Anderson Cooper thinks Donald Trump has taken over policing in Washington DC to dare Democrats into saying there’s no crime problem in US cities.  

The CNN star told New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman that the Dems’ decision to highlight falling crime in DC will likely backfire – because so many locals of all political persuasions have recent personal experiences of lawlessness.

‘It’s so interesting,’ Cooper said on his show AC: 360 on Tuesday. ‘The conflict, you know, Democrats face when talking about the policing in the District of Columbia.’

‘Do you point out statistics of out of a 30-year low as they as the statistics show, and thereby sound like you’re saying, oh, there’s not a crime problem in Washington, DC? Where there’s crime problem everywhere.’

Haberman agreed, conceding: ‘There is a crime problem everywhere.’

Total violent crime in the District of Columbia was down 35 percent from 2023 last year, the DOJ said in January. 

Rates of violent crime in DC are now as low as they have been at any time over the last 30 years.

But the capital saw an enormous surge of lawlessness during the COVID pandemic. 

It continues to be plagued by shocking incidents – often caught on video – which help the perception of anarchy persist.

Any Democrat seeking to play down crime in DC in the face of these anecdotes and images risks looking woke and soft-on-lawlessness, Cooper and Haberman seemed to imply. 

Anderson Cooper explained to frequent CNN contributor Maggie Haberman Donald Trump’s alleged game plan in taking over Washington, DC

He said the strategy is effectively designed to get Democrats to come out and say there’s no crime problem in the municipality, based on falling rates, when crime there – and many other cities – remains a major problem. Pictured, feds searching a DC couple’s car on Tuesday

She added: ‘I mean, in multiple cities, big cities have traditionally had crime problems.’

The pundit proceeded to point to crime rate spikes ‘seen during COVID.’ 

‘In some cases we have seen it come down but there are a lot of people who feel unsafe in big cities,’ she said, before pointing to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s lukewarm response to Trump’s edict as further proof progressives are being baited.

The DC mayor slammed Trump’s takeover on Monday as ‘unsettling.’  

‘If, you know, the mayor pushes back on the President, she sounds like she’s not addressing concerns of constituents,’ Haberman said. ‘Those are the choices.’

The conversation ended there, with Cooper concluding the show shortly thereafter.

Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard Monday elicited a similar reaction from other left-leaning pundits over on MSNBC, where DC resident Joe Scarborough has repeatedly reamed Democrats for ignoring the current state of the city’s streets.  

‘Certainly don’t need the National Guard in there, or certainly not Marines,’ he said on Friday’s Morning Joe, before Trump mobilized 800 troops. ‘But you look at Washington, DC, and it’s been dangerous for years.

‘There’s crime everywhere,’ Cooper explained on Tuesday’s Anderson Cooper 360, before detailing to New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman how statistical drops seen there recently are misleading

Trump vowed to address crime in DC during his most recent campaign, after one of the worst years for the municipality on record. He justified his decision by insisting the state of DC constituted a ‘crime emergency’

‘There have been, you know, a year, a couple of years here, a couple of years there, where it’s been a bit better – but certainly over the past five years it has just been an absolute mess.

‘Its quality of life has been terrible,’ he lamented. ‘We’ve heard it from people that have gone there to visit and are horrified that the nation’s capital is as dangerous as it is.’

Trump went on to make good on his campaign promise to address crime in the capital, in a move some have criticized as a step too far and unconstitutional.

Early data from the Metropolitan Police Department suggests violent crime has dropped 26 percent since 2024. 

Total violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia was down 35 percent from the year before. The DOJ, at the time, celebrated it as a ’30-year-low.’

A few days later, Trump was sworn in. A litany of executive orders followed, include the one signed Monday that saw feds assume control of DC’s police force.

He justified the order by insisting the state of DC constituted a ‘crime emergency’. Liberals were quick to react. Troops arrived there on Tuesday morning. The situation remains ongoing.